Picking alliances

[geowasp]

Ok, so team 1552 did not get selected into eliminations, either
a) they were not a good robot
b) they are ranked 40 out of 45
c) they are a good robot, but failed to exemplify their abilities in the round robin rounds, for whatever reason (new non-random alliance partner selections, etc. )

should they have attempted to "sell" themselves to the higher seeds, if they think the rankings do not reflect their actual ability, or should they simply wait and see, hoping that scouting by other teams would've noticed them? Does it seem desperate if a lowly ranked team attempts to make a final effort to convince potential alliance captains to pick them? In ideal conditions, rankings should reflect a team's ability, but we all know in around 10 matches, some unexpected teams can happen, and a good robot worthy of going into eliminations can easily end up with a losing record, and in the bottom of the rankings. So, my question to the FIRST community out there is: what would you do to get your team into eliminations if you know your team has a great robot, but your rankings are absolutely abyssmal come alliance selections?